This article explains how to use all cost, date, and other hint shortcodes in Booking Calendar’s Advanced (CF7-style) form mode. These shortcodes let you show live-calculated booking costs, selected dates/times, remaining capacity, and booking resource info directly in your form or in confirmation messages.
1) Cost-related shortcodes
Available only in: Booking Calendar Business Medium or higher versions.
[cost_hint]— Full cost of the booking.[original_cost_hint]— Cost for the selected dates only (without additional costs).[additional_cost_hint]— Additional cost that depends on selected form fields.[deposit_hint]— Deposit cost of the booking (if deposits are enabled).[balance_hint]— Remaining balance (total cost minus deposit).[coupon_discount_hint]— Coupon discount value applied to the booking.
For example, if you have an extra cost for my_tax, you can use: [my_tax_hint] in your form to display that extra cost. The pattern is: add _hint to the field name from the Form Options Costs page.
Example usage inside a form:
<div class="cost-summary">
Total: <strong>[cost_hint]</strong><br>
<div style="display:none;">[checkbox my_tax default:on ""]</div>
Tax: [my_tax_hint]
</div>2) Date & time hint shortcodes
Available only in: Booking Calendar Business Medium or higher versions.
[check_in_date_hint]— Selected check-in date. Example: 11/25/2025[check_out_date_hint]— Selected check-out date. Example: 11/27/2025[check_out_plus1day_hint]— Check-out date + 1 day. Example: 11/28/2025[start_time_hint]— Selected start time. Example: 10:00[end_time_hint]— Selected end time. Example: 12:00[selected_dates_hint]— All selected dates (full format). Example: 11/25/2025, 11/26/2025, 11/27/2025[selected_timedates_hint]— All selected dates with times. Example: 11/25/2025 10:00, 11/27/2025 12:00[selected_short_dates_hint]— All selected dates (short format). Example: 11/25/2025 - 11/27/2025[selected_short_timedates_hint]— All selected dates with times (short format). Example: 11/25/2025 10:00 - 11/27/2025 12:00[days_number_hint]— Number of selected days. Example: 3[nights_number_hint]— Number of selected nights. Example: 2[cancel_date_hint]— Date 14 days before check-in. Example: 11/11/2025[pre_checkin_date_hint]— Date N days before check-in (N set in shortcode options).
3) Other hint shortcodes
[capacity_hint]— Remaining available slots for selected dates/times (when capacity is enabled).[resource_title_hint]— Title of the booking resource.[bookingresource show='id']— Resource ID.[bookingresource show='title']— Resource title.[bookingresource show='cost']— Resource cost.
4) Version limitations
All shortcodes listed in this article are only available in Booking Calendar Business Medium or higher versions. They will not work in Free, Personal, or Small Business editions.
5) Using in “Content of booking fields data”
At the bottom of WP Booking Calendar → Settings → Booking Form → Booking Form Fields, you can insert these shortcodes in the “Content of booking fields data” area to include live-calculated costs, selected dates, or other hints in booking lists and emails.
Example content template:
<div class="booking-info">
<b>Dates</b>: [selected_short_dates_hint]<br>
<b>Total Cost</b>: [cost_hint]<br>
<b>Deposit</b>: [deposit_hint] — <b>Balance</b>: [balance_hint]<br>
<b>Capacity</b>: [capacity_hint]
</div>6) Best practices & tips
- Use cost hints near the “Submit” button so customers clearly see the final cost before booking.
- For
_hintextras (like[my_tax_hint]), ensure the extra cost is configured in WP Booking Calendar > Prices > Form Options Costs settings. - Combine date hints with time hints for complete booking details.
- Test your form to confirm all hint values update live as selections change.